


Craving Your Touch

by a_salty_alto



Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon)
Genre: And Gets One, Cuddles, M/M, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony's adventures on Battleworld, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-23 00:07:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13775496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_salty_alto/pseuds/a_salty_alto
Summary: Tony wants a hug





	Craving Your Touch

**Author's Note:**

> Woohoo! Happy 10 years to the Cap-Iron Man community!  
> For the letter "C," I did "contact" and wrote a little touch starved Tony. I really hope you enjoy.

 

Tony wants a hug. He wants to feel the warmth of another person, the touch of a hand on his shoulder, the soothing massage of a certain super soldier's hand in his hair. Tony's craving physical contact. Of course, this is the price Tony has paid to keep Ultron far from Earth, from his family, and he'd gladly pay it over and over again.

Still though, Tony's selfish, and finds himself wishing for cuddles from his Captain while he's stuck in this vast, infinite place.

At least he can still hear the team. Still talk to them. It's not as if he's entirely cut off from them. It could be worse.

Tony's right of course. When the connection gets cut, it _is_ much worse. Now instead of just longing for a hug, he wants to hear Steve whispering words of comfort into his ear too. He wants to hear the sounds of Clint and Thor and Hulk fighting in the kitchen, or Sam talking with Natasha. 

What blindsides Tony is that it gets even _worse._

He's brought to Battleworld by some sociopathic hipster with a god complex who decided to take pieces of worlds and smush them together with a very high tech equivalent of super glue and a prayer. Luckily, the way Battleworld's constructed means the magic keeping Ultron out of Tony's mind is spread throughout, and even better, Suspenders doesn't realize Tony's there, so he can roam around Battleworld as he pleases as long as he lays low. 

But laying low means Tony has to avoid the people he sees. Suspenders isn't stupid. He's monitoring everyone he's brought here intentionally, and with pretty advanced tech, so Tony will definitely get caught if he spends too much time around others. 

Being separated from other people sucked. 

Having to stay away from them sucks more. 

Tony watches the people of these various worlds and pushes down the longing in the pit of his stomach that emerges whenever he sees two people hold hands or hug. On one occasion he sees a woman in an Iron Man armor kiss Captain America and Tony aches with want.   
The desert is better, Tony tells himself. He doesn't have to watch other people, he doesn't have to be constantly reminded of what he's been wanting for ever since he'd reached out to touch Steve and an invisible barrier kept them apart. 

And then Tony finally gets his wish, a gigantic surprise hug from Steve that even includes being swung around like a rag doll.

It's like a knife to the gut.

Because Suspenders, or the Beyonder as they called him, is definitely watching Steve and Natasha. So Tony can't really burst into tears and hug them like he wants to. He can't tell them what he's up to because the Beyonder will know, and if what Tony needs isn't in this stupid pyramid, then he can't even stay with then because being with them means the Beyonder has an eye on everything Tony does, and it's going to kill any chances of stopping the Beyonder and saving Earth and all the other worlds. Even being with Steve and Nat as long as he has is going to mean the Beyonder definitely knows it's him who's been sneaking around.

Tony tries to push them away, settle into that old mask he hasn't used around the team in years, just in case. He can't afford to get his hopes up. This isn't the first place he's checked for the final tool he needs. But, bless their souls, Steve and Nat have attached themselves to him and aren't going to let Tony ditch them, at least not without an explanation. Which Tony can't give because of the Beyonder.

Tony's tense when he blasts the orb, desperately praying that what he's looking for is inside. He nearly starts crying when the final piece he needs to make himself, and the rest of the Avengers now too, completely invisible to the Beyonder drops into the sand in front if him. 

After Moon Knight skulks off, Tony follows Steve and Natasha back to the tower. They've made if back before anyone else, and Natasha leaves Steve and Tony alone in the living room. 

Tony can hardly believe it. They're home. Back at the tower. Steve has his arms wrapped around Tony _finally_ , and even though they're trapped here and everything is a mess, at least they have this again.   
"Tony, is there anything I can do for you?" Steve whispers, soft and caring.  
"No. Just, just hold me." Tony sighs, leaning into Steve. "I've really missed this."


End file.
